1,3-Butadiene (hereinafter butadiene) is an important monomer for synthetic rubbers including styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), plastics including polybutadiene (PB), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), acrylonitrile butadiene (NBR), and as a raw material for adiponitrile for Nylon-6,6 other chemicals. Butadiene is typically produced as a by-product in the steam cracking process and isolated from the cracker streams via extraction. On-purpose butadiene has been prepared among other methods by dehydrogenation of n-butane, dehydrogenation of n-butane, dehydration of n-butanol or butanediols. Industrially, butadiene has been synthesized using petrochemical-based feedstocks. The current commercial practices for producing on-purpose butadiene have several drawbacks including high cost of production and low yield processes. Currently, methods for the production of on-purpose butadiene rely on petro-chemical feedstocks and on energy intensive catalytic steps. In this regard, biotechnology offers an alternative approach in the form of biocatalysis. Biocatalysis is the use of natural catalysts, such as enzymes, to perform chemical transformations on organic compounds. Both enzymes that have been wholly or partially purified, and enzymes which are present in whole cells are useful catalysts in biocatalysis.
Accordingly, against this background, it is clear that there is a need for sustainable methods for producing intermediates, in particular butadiene, wherein the methods are biocatalysis based. Both bioderived feedstocks and petrochemical feedstocks are viable starting materials for the biocatalysis processes.